Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot continues to trend upward in the polls following Sunday's announcement of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former PM Naftali Bennett lose ground, a poll conducted by Israeli public broadcaster KAN News found on Tuesday.
The poll shows that Yashar currently sits at 21 seats, while Netanyahu's Likud and Bennett's Together dropped to 23 and 17 seats, respectively.
The shift in party seats reflects the public's focus on the announced deal and the threat of Iran.
According to the poll, 55% of respondents say they oppose the deal between the US and Iran, compared with 18% who support it and 27% who say they don't know.
Moreover, 70% of respondents said they are still afraid Iran remains a threat even with the new agreement taking shape.
This changes the landscape compared to Maariv's poll just two weeks ago, which had Together at 22 seats, a five-seat decline since then, and an 11-seat decline from its peak.
This had led media commentators to question Bennett's political future and whether he should pivot and join Eisenkot.
In a 103FM interview, when asked whether he would consider taking a backseat to Eisenkot, Bennett emphasized his experience and accomplishments as prime minister and education minister, and proceeded to answer: “I can say that in any case, I will do anything in the world to replace this very bad government. I will not let ego be a factor.”
Eisenkot favored as leader of opposition bloc, poll finds
When asked who should lead the opposition bloc in the next election, respondents favored Eisenkot over Bennett, 32% to 22%, while 31% said neither should lead the bloc, further suggesting Eisenkot's popularity over Bennett.
While the prime minister, Likud, and the coalition bloc are in decline, Likud still sits atop all parties with 23 seats. The bloc as a whole holds 52 seats, a decline from previous polls, while the bloc of parties opposed to Netanyahu holds 57 seats.
